Changes Facing the Fast Food Industry - Essay Example

Mcdonald's has been unable to invest heavily in Scandinavian countries as it has done in other countries because of the tough rules that those countries have imposed on the fast food industry.

Economic Trends

Being in operation in over 90 countries in the world makes financial and economic trends an important factor in the company’s operations. The choice of whether to import resources or purchase them locally is a vital element. Another principal element is the level of taxes that the company is liable to pay; how much do tariffs cost on specific brought-in raw materials? What is the level of taxation for multinational corporations? What is the level of unemployment? (Mcdonald's, 2015).

Socio-Cultural Trends

Growing and constantly changing ways of life can have a consequence on the performance of sales. Persons increasingly are looking for more fare that is sophisticated when they venture out to eat. Hamburgers and French fries are not as exceptional as before. Furthermore, while individuals in western states such as the US may enjoy hamburgers and chips (French fries) as they are commonly called, individuals in Asian states, for instance, favor rice. In the past, McDonald’s has recommended a rice burger in China and the company is currently supporting rice to be eaten for supper in that area.

Technological Trends

Although technology may be seen to play a limited function in the fast food sector, the perception is misguided right at the core. Actually, high technology supports organizations develop their management and output, at the same time cutting on wasted time and assets. It can aid with the arrangement, collation, estimating sales and customer traffic, and efficient modes of payment. Technology can additionally be employed for easy, cheap marketing on the World Wide Web.

Environmental Trends

In the current times, individuals care about restoring and safeguarding the environment. They care about issues such as environmental pollution and the consequences that waste-packing methods are having on the environment. In the recent past, McDonald’s was put to task by conservationists over the polystyrene wrapping that was being used for packing sandwiches. With over 70 million individuals purchasing food from McDonald’s every day, the levels of polystyrene used were quite high, and, so was the waste packaging that was being released into the environment. McDonald’s reacted to blame by doing away with polystyrene in favor of paper-based wrappers, which disintegrate into organic elements much more rapidly in the environment.